Gabrielle Union draws parallels to 'Breaking In' character and real life 'superhero' mothers
Gabrielle Union stars in the upcoming film "Breaking In," as a heroic mother who will do whatever it takes to protect her children, a characteristic she said parallels "fiercely furious" women everywhere.
"We don't celebrate ourselves enough as caregivers, that we do heroic things every day," Union said on "The View" Tuesday. "We are sometimes fiercely furious and we do whatever it takes to protect our family. And we don't just exist in the DC and the Marvel universe. We exist when we see ourselves in the mirror every day and that's what this movie is about, celebrating kick-butt people, especially women."
Union previously opened up on "The View" about her experience raising husband and NBA star Dwayne Wade's two sons and nephew in racially tense areas. She called raising young black men "absolutely terrifying," which became a catalyst on social media.
"I'm having these conversations with my children. For a lot of people who may be ignorant to what it's like to move through this world in brown bodies and raising brown children, I think it was eye-opening for a lot of people," she said of how much that conversation resonated online.
Ironically, Union said, one of the "safe places" she always told her sons to go "If you ever need to stop for directions or need to gather yourself, the place that always has free Wi-Fi and no one is going to bother you, just go into a Starbucks."
Since then two young black men were arrested at a Starbucks in downtown Philadelphia and made national headlines prompting the coffee company to train its staff on how to avoid "racial bias" in an effort to prevent discrimination in its stores.
"Now, where am I safe? You tell me, you know, where am I safe?" Union questioned.
The actress has also openly discussed her struggles with infertility and experience as a rape survivor in her memoir "We're Going to Need More Wine."
"The response has been truly overwhelming. On the book tour each stop it felt like a revival and a therapy session," Union said. "It just turned into such a sense of healing and acknowledgment and it was so important for so many people. We are out here like the walking wounded. There's a lot of us out here who have been waiting to be given permission and I don't know why to just say I've been hurt and I need help."
Union added it "is incredibly painful" to see victims waiting for permission or feeling silenced due to disbelief from society.
"There's no upside to being a rape survivor. It's a club that nobody wants to be in so this idea that there are dozens and dozens and dozens of women who are clamoring for rape fame and a cash grab is nonsense," Union said. "It's such a lonely, painful feeling and it's unnecessary."
